I am confused.

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05-22-2013, 04:59 PM
Justin W.

I am confused.

Can someone make sense of this quote by one of the instructors of one of the gyms I train at? "it doesn't mean you should be a higher belt if you're a blue belt and consistently tapping out brown and black belts. It just means you're a really good blue and there's nothing wrong with that. It's a good thing you're doing that." I tried for a year to figure out what he meant by this. Any ideas guys?

This same guy also said "even though you train over 12 times a week, you've still only been a blue for a year and even though these other guys only train 2x a week, they've been blue for 3 years and that's why I'm promoting them". Let's just say I overheard him saying this to someone else. Personally I don't care about belts at all, I'm just trying to make sense of this as it has never made any sense to me and I'm hoping someone can shed some light on this?
05-22-2013, 05:42 PM
VictorV

He's putting way too much emphasis on time in rank.
05-22-2013, 05:48 PM
Matt Salinas

Sounds like he knows you can pull off a technique well but you haven't gained the experience, knowledge, or wisdom he feels that is necessary to promote you to the next rank.
05-22-2013, 06:31 PM
Slick Rick

You gotta recognize talent. Sometimes people think they are a belt but really aren't that because they you certain fundamentals. But I know you are the ish, so they gotta recognize game. Nothing is more telling than your performance at major tournaments, however.
05-22-2013, 06:34 PM
michael h

Must make more sense in portugese.
05-22-2013, 06:40 PM
Kyle Spalla

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael h

Must make more sense in portugese.

I was thinking the same thing.
05-22-2013, 07:06 PM
Chris Herzog

I don't know whats harder to understand, your instructor or Slick's post ;)
05-22-2013, 07:28 PM
Brandon Mccaghren

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Herzog

I don't know whats harder to understand, your instructor or Slick's post ;)

+1
05-22-2013, 07:42 PM
Justin W.

Oh no, I wasn't talking about myself getting promoted. He didn't direct these things at me, he said it as a general statement to everyone. I'm not saying I deserve to be promoted or anything. I was just wondering what he meant and he's not portuguese lol
05-22-2013, 07:45 PM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Salinas

Sounds like he knows you can pull off a technique well but you haven't gained the experience, knowledge, or wisdom he feels that is necessary to promote you to the next rank.

I agree that this happens a lot and it's not right to promote a guy if he's one of those guys who are exceptional at one move.
05-22-2013, 07:46 PM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slick Rick

You gotta recognize talent. Sometimes people think they are a belt but really aren't that because they you certain fundamentals. But I know you are the ish, so they gotta recognize game. Nothing is more telling than your performance at major tournaments, however.

Just clarifying again, I'm not saying I should get promoted or that any of that was directed at me but this guy also said "If someone wins the mundials, doesn't mean they should get promoted" I'm just genuinely curious as to what he means by all of this.
05-22-2013, 08:27 PM
David Rosado

Every instructor promotes differently. BJ Penn became a black belt in 2 years. I suppose your instructor would've kept him at blue. LOL.

I personally disagree with your instructor's approach. I think it makes more sense to judge based on performance not time. A shitty blue belt shouldn't get a purple belt because he's been a shitty blue belt for 3 years. He should remain a shitty blue belt until he shows improvement to merit a purple. Likewise, a phenomenal blue belt shouldn't be held back just because they've only been blue for a short time.

Examples off the top of my head:
BJ Penn: Black belt in 2 years (and mundal winner shortly after that)
Andre Galvao (Purple for less than a year)
The 10th planet Freakshow brothers (got to purple in like a year and a half I think?)

That's my opinion for what it's worth coming from a shitty white belt. LOL.
05-22-2013, 08:39 PM
Kyle Spalla

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin W.

Oh no, I wasn't talking about myself getting promoted. He didn't direct these things at me, he said it as a general statement to everyone. I'm not saying I deserve to be promoted or anything. I was just wondering what he meant and he's not portuguese lol

Please DIRECT him to an English class. Till then just nod your head and try not to piss him off. :)
05-23-2013, 12:27 AM
sean applegate

Meh, just because you tap someone doesn't mean you know nearly as much about jiu jitsu as them. It really doesn't mean much at all to be honest.

There is way more to getting belted than tapping higher ranked players out, but it definitely helps :)

Here is a for instance.
I have a guy in my school that has really picked the guard game up fast. So fast, that he was tapping blues in tournaments at 3 months. His clinch is good, his hips are good, and his timing is good. He has even put a beating on a few purples that have come through the school.
Now, with that being said, there are other white belts in the gym that can crush him. Why? Am I holding them all back to long? Does he deserve a blue belt for tapping these people regularly? No.
All the other white belts just pass and tap him. He is only dangerous from there. His game is far to narrow. Because of this, his understanding of jiu jitsu as a whole is much less than many of people he is tapping.

Not blue belt level jiu jitsu.

Maybe that's close to what he meant? Or he could just be crazy... :)
05-23-2013, 01:41 AM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sean applegate

Meh, just because you tap someone doesn't mean you know nearly as much about jiu jitsu as them. It really doesn't mean much at all to be honest.

There is way more to getting belted than tapping higher ranked players out, but it definitely helps :)

Here is a for instance.
I have a guy in my school that has really picked the guard game up fast. So fast, that he was tapping blues in tournaments at 3 months. His clinch is good, his hips are good, and his timing is good. He has even put a beating on a few purples that have come through the school.
Now, with that being said, there are other white belts in the gym that can crush him. Why? Am I holding them all back to long? Does he deserve a blue belt for tapping these people regularly? No.
All the other white belts just pass and tap him. He is only dangerous from there. His game is far to narrow. Because of this, his understanding of jiu jitsu as a whole is much less than many of people he is tapping.

Not blue belt level jiu jitsu.

Maybe that's close to what he meant? Or he could just be crazy... :)

Spot on post. I completely agree but let's say just for the sake of the argument, the blue belts skill and knowledge far surpasses the brown/black belts at the gym. What reason then would there be to hold someone back? I'm just curious is all. I like how you think.
05-23-2013, 01:42 AM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Rosado

Every instructor promotes differently. BJ Penn became a black belt in 2 years. I suppose your instructor would've kept him at blue. LOL.

I personally disagree with your instructor's approach. I think it makes more sense to judge based on performance not time. A shitty blue belt shouldn't get a purple belt because he's been a shitty blue belt for 3 years. He should remain a shitty blue belt until he shows improvement to merit a purple. Likewise, a phenomenal blue belt shouldn't be held back just because they've only been blue for a short time.

Examples off the top of my head:
BJ Penn: Black belt in 2 years (and mundal winner shortly after that)
Andre Galvao (Purple for less than a year)
The 10th planet Freakshow brothers (got to purple in like a year and a half I think?)

That's my opinion for what it's worth coming from a shitty white belt. LOL.

You don't even wanna know what he said when someone brought up BJ Penn getting promoted in 2 years.
05-23-2013, 11:45 AM
sean applegate

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin W.

You don't even wanna know what he said when someone brought up BJ Penn getting promoted in 2 years.

Caralho?
05-23-2013, 02:46 PM
GMathewsMMA

3 years, but BJ trained twice a day, every day and did every competition available for the duration of those years. BJ's also super talented and has always been an absolute monster on the mats, trust me on that one, heh. All of his brothers are also just as good and always have been, so it runs in the family.
05-23-2013, 02:49 PM
Brent Smith

And BJ deserved it. I hope to see him come back to BJJ competition. Im sure he'll fight a bit longer though.
05-23-2013, 03:43 PM
Kyle Spalla

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMathewsMMA

3 years, but BJ trained twice a day, every day and did every competition available for the duration of those years. BJ's also super talented and has always been an absolute monster on the mats, trust me on that one, heh. All of his brothers are also just as good and always have been, so it runs in the family.

I think BJ is the last person anyone wants to debate his legitimacy. His accolades more than support his belt color and nickname. I would pay big money to see BJ win another Mundial.
05-23-2013, 06:56 PM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brent Smith

And BJ deserved it. I hope to see him come back to BJJ competition. Im sure he'll fight a bit longer though.

Hell yeah. BJ is the man. I'd prefer to see him in BJJ tbh.
05-23-2013, 06:59 PM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMathewsMMA

3 years, but BJ trained twice a day, every day and did every competition available for the duration of those years. BJ's also super talented and has always been an absolute monster on the mats, trust me on that one, heh. All of his brothers are also just as good and always have been, so it runs in the family.

BJ Penn has been my inspiration from day one. Talented family indeed.
05-23-2013, 07:18 PM
bobby rivers

I do not see Bj excelling at the highest level of jj.
05-23-2013, 07:19 PM
bobby rivers

*presently
05-23-2013, 08:06 PM
Justin W.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bobby rivers

I do not see Bj excelling at the highest level of jj.

I highly doubt he would win but I definitely think he could hang with the best of them at his weight. Sure he hasn't competed at the highest level in a very long time but he has consistently trained with world class BJJ guys since then. All that said, I would just like to see him compete, win or lose.
05-23-2013, 08:17 PM
sean applegate

Quote:

Originally Posted by Justin W.

I highly doubt he would win but I definitely think he could hang with the best of them at his weight. Sure he hasn't competed at the highest level in a very long time but he has consistently trained with world class BJJ guys since then. All that said, I would just like to see him compete, win or lose.

Yup